


The Other Side of the Story

by SomebodyIUsetoKnow



Series: Series of Unfortunate Events [2]
Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Damian Wayne Free Zone, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Lots of Angst, M/M, Swearing, Too Much to be a good thing..., seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:21:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24564523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomebodyIUsetoKnow/pseuds/SomebodyIUsetoKnow
Summary: Companion piece to "The Year from Hell"Jason had made some pretty dumb mistakes in his life, but this one might just take the cake.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Series: Series of Unfortunate Events [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1775533
Comments: 26
Kudos: 339





	1. "He wasn’t supposed to be there."

**Author's Note:**

> This is the Companion piece to my story "The Year From Hell". Chapters will be posted simultaneously, but "The Year From Hell" should be read first as these will contain spoilers for that story and won't make sense otherwise.

** 1\. "He wasn’t supposed to be there." **

He could feel their eyes on him.

Staring.

Waiting.

Needing an explanation for the shitshow that had taken place tonight.

Guilt gnawed at him as he sat astride the motorcycle and stared at the dried smear of blood across the side of the helmet he held in his hands.

It wasn’t the first time the thing had been splattered with blood. It was one of the reasons he chose red as his colour, to make things like that less noticeable.

Except he noticed it and couldn’t stop seeing it.

Or hearing it.

The crack it made when it hit Grayson’s face…

It made him nauseous just thinking about it.

“GODDAMNIT!” He suddenly roared, rising to his feet and hurling the helmet as far away from him as he could. It sailed over the other vehicles, collided with the opposite side of the cavern, and clattered down into the depths below for several seconds before a faint splash signalled its demise. Jason slumped back onto the seat of the bike and buried his hands in his face.

He was so twisted up inside his own head, dozens of scenarios playing out where he didn’t beat a cop bloody, that he didn’t hear Bruce cross the platform and stairs from the computer terminal to the vehicles. Not until the man placed a comforting hand on his shoulder to draw his attention. Jason was relieved not to see the cowl, the older man already changed out of the suit and into comfortable sweats and shirt; to see no condemnation in his father’s eyes and only genuine concern.

“Want to tell me what happened?”

Jason felt like crying, something he hadn’t done in years, but didn’t. Even as he wrapped his arms around Bruce’s waist and let his forehead rest on Bruce’s stomach. His voice cracked when he spoke, his words barely a whisper but he knew they would be heard. “He wasn’t supposed to be there.”

Bruce had helped him to his feet and across the cave to the showers. He had felt Tim and Alfred watching the pair with their own concern and worry, but Bruce dismissed them while Jason tried to drown himself under the scalding spray of water. He was allowed to wallow for nearly twenty minutes before Bruce called him back to the cave for debrief.

Now, he was sitting in front of the bank of computer screens in warm sweats and t-shirt with a cup of herbal tea in his hands. The cave was silent, the screens dark. All but one, showing Barbara in the clocktower sipping at her own beverage.

“We needed the window.” He said after several minutes of silence. “There was no other way to see the back unless we were street level and then we would have been exposed. If we had more time, maybe we could have found something but…”

“Grayson switched shifts with Henry last minute.” Barbara filled the quiet when he took a moment to gather his thoughts. “The change didn’t make it onto the duty roster until late this afternoon. Since I had just checked it at lunch, I didn’t see the need to again when we were planning for the Op.”

“I heard him in the hall.” Jason sighed and set the delicate cup onto the terminal beside him. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and stared at his hands. “He was talking to his neighbour, a nurse. They were talking about Henry’s son and he was offering to drive the nurse to the hospital so she wouldn’t be late if she wanted to check the kid. Who does that for a neighbour in Gotham these days?”

“The building is two-thirds owned by first responders.” Bruce informed them. “Chances are, he knows them all on a first name basis.”

“I just kept thinking, ‘take the ride, take the ride’, because then he would leave, and I would be gone before he got back.” He sighed and shook his head. “But she didn’t, and he was coming inside.”

“You had a gun on him.” Oracle prompted when he didn’t continue.

“Most people stop when there’s a gun pointed at their face, even one loaded with rubber bullets and the safety on.” Jason scoffed. “I just needed a second to get his attention and I would have told him everything; I would have brought him in on the Op and he could have had the cops on the line sooner than they got there.”

“A good plan.” Bruce agreed with a nod, and something in Jason relaxed just a little bit.

“Except he didn’t give me that second.” Jason closed his eyes, the events replaying in his mind. “He moved so fast! He knocked the gun out of my hand, distracted me with his jacket, and even with the body armor I felt that first hit. Without it, I would have been on the ground puking my guts, and I just…”

“Reacted.” Bruce’s hand was on his knee, but Jason still didn’t open his eyes.

“I have never seen a cop with moves like he has.” The younger man admitted. “He was crazy fast and combined several different styles and in ways I didn't think possible. He acted on instinct and with hardly any wasted movement. Honestly, Bruce, I think even you would have been hard pressed against him. He had me on the defensive from the get-go and the only thing that kept me on my feet was the armor. Hit after hit, he wasn’t pulling any of his punches even though I knew he was hurting himself. He was pushing me back into the apartment, cornering me, and you were all talking at me over the comm and I couldn’t think and when I saw the helmet, I just grabbed it and… I hit him.”

It was a move he had used dozens of times. The bullet-proof helmet was custom made by Lucius Fox just for Jason and to be swung around as a weapon should he need it. He couldn’t count the number of goons he had taken down with just one hit. 

Just like Grayson.

“He went down, hard.” Jason tried to keep the all the conflicting emotions out of his voice, though even he could hear the guilt and remorse tinting his words. “He was bleeding from the nose and mouth and I just… You needed my eyes back in that window. I stripped him of his weapons, keys, wallet, anything I could find on him. Cuffed him, tied him to the radiator, gagged him when he kept yelling. When Two-Face’s guys showed up, I left him there like that.”

Shaking his head, he finally opened his eyes and looked up at his father. “I fucked up Bruce! I invaded his home, beat him, confined him, and then just left him there! The got to him, right Babs? You sent the cops for him?”

“As soon as you were all clear of the restaurant.” She assured him. “Radio chattered had an ambulance there in minutes. EMT’s reported the cops on scene said he was conscious and lucid, but he passed out before the rig got there.”

“Fuck!” Jason spat, kicking the rolling chair back as he surged to his feet. He needed to move and began pacing. “How bad did I hurt him!?”

“All things considered, not too bad.” Bruce started while typing on the keyboard in front of him. A second screen flickered on to show a hospital report. “You did break his nose and chipped a couple of teeth, but no concussion or brain injury. He required eight stitches to close the cuts inside his mouth, but the rest is just bruising. The Doctor’s concluded he passed out from exhaustion. He had just come off a full 24 hours shift and from his logbook, it was a busy twenty-four hours.”

“Red Hood is going to have to lay low for a while.” Oracle told them succinctly. “There is no stopping the warrants for his arrest coming down the wire. Breaking and entering, assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault of a peace officer, unlawful imprisonment. The Commissioner is out for blood and already calling for a press conference tonight at the hospital. Within the hour, Red Hood is going to be the most sought-after criminal in Gotham City.”

“What the hell, I thought she liked us?” Jason stopped his pacing and gaped at the woman across the screen.

“Jason,” Bruce said seriously but not unkindly. “Not only is Richard Grayson one of her officers, he’s also her son.”

He blanched and he could feel the blood draining from his face. “Oh, fuck my life…” He groaned and blindly reached out for the chair, pulling it back beneath him as he collapsed into it. He was vaguely aware of Bruce thanking Barbara for everything and saying goodnight before shutting down all the computers and leaving father and son in the dim light of the Batcave.

“I knew him, once.” Bruce said quietly. Jason looked at him across the distance, at the man uncharacteristically leaned back in his chair and staring off in the distance at something only he could see. “I was there the night his parents were murdered. He was just a kid, eight-years old, and had just watched as his whole life crumble around him into a nightmare he will never wake from. The look on his face as he stared at their bodies; screaming and sobbing their names and fighting any and everyone who tried to stop him from getting to them.”

Jason felt ill. He could only imagine how something like that would have triggered the man who later became his father. “Bruce…”

Bruce blinked and turned to face Jason with a faint smile. “I’m okay.” The smile shifted into an amused smirk as he pushed the sleeve up his left arm and displayed one of his many scars. “He bit me when I tried to hold him back. Didn’t even hesitated, just clamped on and elbowed me in the stomach for good measure.”

Jason mirrored the smirk. “He was a fighter, even then?”

With a nod, Bruce helped Jason to his feet and the pair started for the elevator up to the manor. “I considered fostering him myself, like I did with you. But I wasn’t ready then, I don’t think. I was twenty-eight at time, had been Batman for only three years, and singularly focused on the mission; I think my anger and obsession would have smothered him. I still wanted to help him though. So, I hired lawyers to fight Immigration when they tried to deport him; worked as a Child Advocate for him while looking for a home for him. A good home, with the love and understanding a child who had seen what he had needed.”

Truthfully, Jason couldn’t think of anyone who could have been better for a kid like that than Bruce. After all, he had been that for Jason and he had seen his fair share of shit. But he kept that too himself as they entered the lift and headed upstairs.

“And then I found Maggie Sawyer in Metropolis. At the time, she was a Captain with the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit and was volunteering as a Big Sister and Mentor. She specialized in kids who had witnessed violent crimes and had helped a lot of kids. She was in the process of applying to be a foster parent when I approached her. I told her about Richard, and she met with him a couple of times here at the manor where he was staying temporarily. When she agreed to foster him, I expected her to take him back to Metropolis. Little did I know that Jim had decided to make her a job offer here with the GCPD. I was grateful, though, as it allowed me to keep an eye on him those first few years.”

“And maybe grease a few palms when needed?” Jason grinned when the elevator stopped, and they exited into the study from behind the grandfather clock.

“Maybe.” Bruce admitted with a casual shrug. “Not often, though. Maggie was – is a good mother to him. I helped, financially, the first few months. He required a language coach; even though he spoke five different languages English was not one of them. When Maggie found him climbing the outside of her townhouse like a jungle gym, she asked me to me help her find a Gymnastics coach that could do something with his years of acrobatics training. And there may have been a small college fund set aside for him-”

Jason couldn’t stop the snort that escaped him as they walked down the hall toward the family wing. He knew Bruce’s definition of ‘small’. Grayson could have gone all eight years at the most prestigious Ivy League University and still have enough left over to buy a house. And a car. And a boat.

Bruce just ignored him and continued. “-though he never used it himself. He was aware of it, even came to the office just after he graduated high school to thank me. And then told me in no uncertain terms that he would pay his own way or not at all and that I should give it someone else. When I told him that even if I wanted to, once he turned eighteen, I couldn’t touch it. He just thanked me and left. Maggie told me he’s used some of the funds to help some of the families of other officers send their kids to college. Or sports camp. Or pay for a coach, or tutor.”

“So, a real Golden Boy.” Jason griped as he reached for the doorknob to his bedroom door. “And I put him in the hospital.”

The gentle hold on his arm stopped him when he went to enter and turned to look at Bruce. “I know tonight’s outcome was less than ideal and we all bare some responsibility for it. But believe me when I say that I know you would never hurt someone without cause, especially an Officer like Richard Grayson.”

He’d like to claim that hearing that didn’t matter, but the truth was that it did. Letting go of the handle, he turned and hugged the man. “Thanks, Dad.”

Strong arms encircled him and returned the embrace. “Just listen to Oracle for a while, alright? Grayson is one of the honest-to-god good guys out there. Even the dirty cops like and respect him. Everyone with a badge is going to be looking for retribution. So, no going out as Red Hood at least until Batman gets the chance to talk to the Commissioner and try to clear things up.”

“I assaulted her son, Dad.” Jason breathed morosely into Bruce’s shoulder. “She’s not going to let it go.”

“She’s his mother.” Bruce responded with a gentle squeeze. “It’s no less than what I would do if someone hurt you or Tim.”


	2. "I only kidnapped him a little..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Companion piece to my story "The Year From Hell". Chapters will be posted simultaneously, but "The Year From Hell" should be read first as these will contain spoilers for that story and won't make sense otherwise.

“You were supposed to talk to him, Jason.”

“I did talk to him.”

“Jason-”

“I did! There were words and everything.”

“Was this before or after you locked in him the trunk of a car?”

Jason flinched and his hand froze where it hovered over the shower controls. With a sigh he let his hand drop and reached for his towel with the other. He wrapped it around his waist and pushed the curtain aside. Staring at Bruce in the doorway to the shower room, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. “He didn’t give me the chance. He saw me and freaked out.”

Still wearing most of his Batman uniform, the cowl pushed back from his face, it was a little disconcerting to hear the man sign and pinch the bridge of his nose. “Damn it, Jason; do you have any idea how serious this is?”

Jason cringed and wished the ground would swallow him whole. “Can I at least shower or even throw on some clothes before you kill me?”

“You kidnapped a police officer.” Bruce snapped sharply, still not looking at him.

“I only kidnapped him a little…”

“Shut up, Jason!” Bruce thundered, anger reverberating throughout the cave, and his head came up abruptly to glower at his son. “This is not a joke! You kidnapped him, end of story! There is no statute of limitations for abduction in this state. This is not going to just go away in a few years. It’s not going to go away, ever! And I – I can’t protect you from this one.”

And there was the crux of it all.

Batman couldn’t save him this time.

His lips pressed together, he nodded. “Can I say good-bye to Tim and Alfred before we go?”

“Go?” The query seemed to startle the anger out of the other man and seeing the naked remorse on the younger man’s face his shoulder’s slumped. “I’m not turning you in to the police, Jason. Just… get cleaned up, then we’ll talk.” Without another word, the Batman left the room. 

Jason spent only the necessary time to clean the surface grime off his body before he was shutting off the shower. He quickly dried off before throwing on a set of clothes and padded over to where Batman was observing Alfred as he tended to a minor wound to Tim’s back.

“You okay, Replacement?” He asked the youngest of their clan, the nickname an old one and spoken fondly in jest.

“Alfred says I won’t need stitches.” Tim answered with a yawn.

“It is barely a flesh wound, Master Jason.” The gentleman’s gentleman assured him with a soft smile. “It should heal without scarring in a few days.”

“Good.” Jason nodded with relief before turning to Bruce who was now out of the uniform as well. “Where did you want to talk?”

“Right here.” Bruce said and nodded his head towards the other two. “This puts a target on them as much as you, accessories after the fact. They deserve to hear your explanation.”

As always, the man was right. Heaving a quiet sigh, Jason moved to the second gurney in the first aid room and lifted himself to sit on its edge. “I know I was supposed to just talk to him, I even told him that. He was just… ugh! He wasn’t listening to me!”

“Can’t blame the guy,” Tim muttered with a small wince when Alfred dabbed the open wound with a little alcohol. “You assaulted the guy in his own home.”

“Not helping, Tim.” Bruce scolded the teen lightly.

“He’s not wrong though, Bruce.” Jason shook his head. “If I were him, I wouldn’t want to listen to the bastard who smashed my face in either. I didn’t feel I had any other choice. I could have told him what we had, forced him to listen; I would have still been technically kidnapping him but as soon as I let him out of car he would have gone right back to that apartment to be bait for a group of raping and murdering psychopaths!”

“He had backup, Jason.” The head Bat reminded him. “He wasn’t in any real danger.”

“If they stuck to their usual M.O., he would have been blindfolded and restrained before his ‘backup’ made their move.” Jason’s words came out in an angry growl. “By that point it wouldn’t matter how fast backup came. It takes less than a second to slit someone’s throat, and once the cops breached the apartment Dick would have become a hostage if they didn’t outright kill him. I wasn’t about to allow him to be hurt or worse just because we kept the GCPD out of the loop on this case!”

There was nearly a full minute of silence before it was broken by an incredulous snort from Tim. When the other three men looked at him, he outright laughed.

“Dare I ask what is so amusing, Master Timothy?” Alfred asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He pulled Grayson’s pigtails!” He told them with a teasing smile toward his adoptive brother. “You’ve been obsessing over this guy since August. You’ve had Oracle dig up everything that can be found about him that’s not already in Bruce’s files; you had her get you his schedule ever since he went back on duty; you’ve been spending longer nights patrolling his usual beats, especially when he’s on the night shift; I can name at least four different times this month alone that your tracker has pinged you hanging around outside his building; and you were the one that brought this case to Batman when you dug into it after Grayson had been tapped for the op by the GCPD detectives investigating.”

“Oh god,” Bruce groaned and physically facepalmed with a grimace. “It’s Roy Harper all over again.”

The heat that flooded his face was evident to everyone in the room. Roy Harper had been the first ‘sidekick’. Partnered with Green Arrow in Star City, Speedy had been eight years older that him when Jason has started working alongside Batman. They met a handful of times and the man, now going by the name Red Arrow, had been happy to give the Dark Knight’s partner some tips and advice.

And teenaged Jason Todd had developed a massive crush.

“I am not interested in Dick Grayson like that!” He protested quietly but, having his actions the last few months pointed out like, that he could see Tim’s reasoning.

“Your blush says otherwise, Master Jason.” Alfred jibed with a straight face. “Shall I extend an invitation to Commissioner Sawyer and her son for dinner? It has been more than a decade since they have been to the Manor.”

“Et tu, Alfred?” Jason moaned and slumped back on the gurney.

“Alfred, Tim, please give us the room.” Bruce’s quiet command was followed almost instantly. Tim bobbed his head once in a nod and hopped down from the gurney and made his way out.

Alfred quickly and efficiently tidied up before gripping Jason’s knee reassuringly. “Chin up, Master Jason. As the Bard once said, ‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’ I shall have something light to eat for you both upstairs before you retire for the evening.”

“Thank you, Alfred.” Bruce bid the butler, then allowed the quiet to surround them again as Alfred departed.

Jason was grateful when his father didn’t push, just let him gather the thoughts that were spinning around inside his head. After a few minutes, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and met Bruce’s blue eyes. “I swear, I’m not consciously stalking the guy.”

Bruce grunted and came fully into the room, lifting himself up to sit beside Jason on the gurney. “You’ve always been a little lacking in impulse control. Especially if you’re trying help someone you care about.”

“That’s just it, though!” Jason insisted forcefully. “I don’t care about Dick – Richard – Officer Grayson! Goddamn it!”

With a quiet laugh, Bruce patted him on the back. “He’s impressed you. When you clashed with him back in August, I could hear it in your voice when you gave your report. But may I make a suggestion? Try getting to know him as yourself first, not Red Hood.”

“And what, apologize for the home invasion and kidnapping?” Jason huffed, turning away from his father’s knowing eyes in an attempt to hide the lingering flush to his cheeks. “I can just imagine how that would go: ‘Hey, Grayson, I’m the douchebag that beat you up, tied you up, then kidnapped you! Let me make it up to you by dating you!’”

“I guess that means you are interested in him like that.” He could hear the teasing lilt to his Bruce’s voice and turned an unimpressed glare to the man. Bruce just chuckled and slid from the gurney. “I’m definitely not saying you out yourself as Red Hood. There are hundreds of ways J.T. Wayne can meet him, or you can keep the family name out of it and introduce yourself as Jason Todd. But you’re a smart man, Jason. You’ll figure it out if you’re serious.

“In the meantime,” The lightness of the moment fled in the wake of Batman’s re-emergence. “You’re benched.”

Jason gaped at the man. “What!? For how long!?”

“Until the GCPD isn’t baying for Red Hood’s blood.” Batman frowned. “So, get use the cave. You won’t be leaving it for a long time.”


	3. We Were Going to Have Dinner Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Companion piece to my story "The Year From Hell". Chapters will be posted simultaneously, but "The Year From Hell" should be read first as these will contain spoilers for that story and won't make sense otherwise.

* * *

** 3\. We were going to have dinner tonight.  **

It was barely noon by the time he made it to the cave. Bruce and Tim were waiting at the bank of computers and had both ditched the power suits they had been wearing that morning. They were now dressed in their spare uniforms – the ones kept in a subbasement of Wayne Tower – with the cowls pushed back from their faces. He wasn’t that surprised; he had been monitoring their comm frequencies ever since Alfred had called them about the shooting outside Ángelos’. He knew the Street Demonz had struck more than one location. 

“How many?” He growled, peeling off the domino mask as he crossed the platforms to the computer banks.

“Six. Within an hour of the first 911 call, there were five other mass shootings throughout the city. All were carried out by members of the Gotham Street Demonz.” Tim answered grimly as he pulled up the various police reports. “It started on Murphy Avenue just a few minutes after nine and from there it quickly escalated. The second group hit the open-air market in Newtown; tore through the place in minutes and were gone before the first squad car responded. Sixty-eight casualties, nine fatalities. All gunmen escaped.”

“Oracle's going through the area's CCTV cameras to see what she can find on them." Bruce gestured to a second report. "Gotham University was next, but security personnel on the campus were able to contain the assault fairly quickly. Eighteen students were injured, no fatalities. Three of the four gunmen were taken down with non-lethal measures by Campus Security, one escaped on foot and is currently being pursued by police and K-9.”

“Batman and Redwing were en route to the campus when we got reports of two more shootings. Batman split off and neutralized the fourth group, four gunmen, in the Upper West Side. Thirty-one casualties, two fatalities.” Tim motioned to a fourth screen. “I headed back to Chinatown where I aided the police and we contained the situation. Fifty-three casualties, eleven fatalities, including two police officers and one gunman. Two of the remaining five shooters escaped with no pursuit. Batman and I will be heading out after dark to bring them in if they haven’t skipped town. Either way, enough officers have their faces on the bodycams and there will be a nationwide manhunt for them. We’ll get them.”

Bruce’s frown deepened as he stared at another screen. “The final group made their assault on GCPD Central. All but two of the thirteen gang members were shot and killed, but not before injuring thirty-seven officers and killing eight. Red Hood took a risk going over there, but without your help those numbers could have been a lot worse.”

“All of them could have been a lot worse today, if the first assault on Murphy Avenue hadn’t been resolved as quickly as it had been.” Tim told them, carefully watching Jason as he brought a familiar face up onto the screen. It was the man that had been leading the group at the coffee shop. “Eight bystanders were wounded, but no fatalities. Three of the six gunmen were killed but the other three have been arrested. Including Emmanuel Vasquez. He apparently took over the Gotham Street Demonz in a bloody coup a few weeks ago and this was his coming out party announcing the new regime.”

What felt like a lead weight suddenly formed in Jason’s gut when Tim hesitate on his next statement. “The, uh… the off-duty officer… he, uh… he’s critical, Jay.”

“Fuck!” Jason snarled and swallowed around the nausea churning at the back of his throat as he recalled the condition in which he had found Grayson. He wiped a hand over his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut while trying to banish the image from his mind. How had Dick ended up like that?

As if knowing what he was thinking, Bruce used another keyboard to access a another set of files, including a video and an audio file. “Grayson made the first call to 911 this morning, only seconds after the shooting started. Because of that, the Quick Response Teams throughout the city were already on alert and swift to deploy when the other shootings started being reported. Regrettably, one of the gang members on Murphy Ave was live streaming his participation and the video has yet to be purged from the various sites it’s been uploaded to.”

The only sounds in the cave were those that came from the video; gunshots, screams, laughter from the man filming the carnage. And then the camera spun around, and Grayson’s face was perfectly in focus when he didn’t hesitate to fire the pistol in his hand and end the video.

“That location is only a couple blocks away from the 29th Precinct and his 911 call had them mobilizing less than two minutes after the first shot was fired.” Bruce continued after closing the video and starting the playback of the 911 call. “Grayson engaged the shooters and, according to the civilian relaying with dispatch, he took out two of the gunmen before he had to retreat back into the café.”

_“-uestions as best as you can, and for god’s sake keep your head down!”_ Dick’s voice was muted, in the background, but even then, Jason could hear the steel in the man’s words.

_“H-hello?”_

_“Sir, my name is Evan. Can you tell me your name and what’s happening?”_

_“Uh… Dyer. Kalvin Dyer. The guy – the cop? – just went outside and he had a gun. I think he’s shooting back!”_

_“Okay Mr. Dyer The police are on their way. How many people are with you?”_

_“Um... I’m not – Oh god! Oh god, he’s bleeding!”_ The man’s voice was shaking and clearly terrified.

_“Tell me what’s happening, Mr. Dyer.”_ The dispatcher’s voice, however, was calm and steady.

_*CRACK**CRACK*_

_“I think he shot ano-”_

_“DICK!”_ Gina’s scream tore through the speaker.

“Witnesses on the street reported one gunman jumped through the window into the café and the remaining two quickly followed when police units arrived on scene seconds later.” Bruce resumed and Jason only realized he was shaking when Tim placed a hand on his arm and drew him toward the chair.

_*crackcrackcrackcrack*_

_“No body moves!”_

_“…oh god they’re going to kill him!”_

_“-ill him! He’s a police officer!”_

_“Mr. Dyer, I’m patching you through to the QRT Lieutenant. Do not hang up!”_

His legs were weak as he slumped into the leather of the chair and Bruce glanced at him in concern. When he went to stop the play back Jason shook his head and reached over to grab Bruce’s wrists. “I need to hear this.”

_“Put me on speaker, Mr. Dyer!”_ a new voice snapped without introduction.

_“Stop! They want to talk to you!”_

_“This is Lieutenant Gerard Hennelly with the GCPD Quick Response Team. You have hurt a lot of people here today; do not make it worse for yourselves. Put your weapons on the ground and exit the building with your hands on top your heads.”_

_“I have a little piggy in front me. He’s bleeding; did you know that?”_

Jason had seen and heard so much worse in the years working alongside Batman, but something about the pain in Dick’s scream had him turning green. He let Tim tilt his body forward, his head dropping as he fought to keep from throwing up.

_“Maybe I should just put him out of his misery. What do you think, Lieutenant Gerry?”_

_“I think if you do, we won’t be putting you in cuffs today. We’ll be putting you in a body bag.”_

_“I’m tempted to call your bluff. We’ll talk again after you’ve cleaned up outside. All the noise is starting to irritate me.”_

The recording came to an end and Bruce was suddenly crouched in front of him with a steadying hand on his shoulder. “Jay, talk to me.”

“We were going to have dinner tonight.” He had already told them that, after several minutes of teasing when he had gotten back to the car and were en route to Wayne Tower. And then Alfred had called, and the day went to hell. “And now he might not – goddamn it!”

“Officer Grayson saved a lot of people today.” Bruce tried to reassure him, but the sentiment was lost to him. “It’s because of him, and you, that Vasquez is in police custody and will be held accountable for the lives he’s taken today.”

“You didn’t see him, Bruce.” Jason lifted his head and met the concern-filled blue eyes of his adoptive father. “He was so hurt, there was so much blood, and I couldn’t stay to help him!”

“He was transported quickly to St. Augustine’s and is in surgery.” Tim had utilised their backdoor into the Hospital computers and had pulled up the relevant files. His fingers were ghosting over the keyboard as he spoke. “GSWs to left leg, left shoulder, upper right arm; powder burns and a graze along his right jawline; ruptured right eardrum; lacerations on hi-”

“Tim!” Bruce snapped when Jason had felt another wave of queasiness and allowed the older vigilante to angle his head lower while he tried to regain his equilibrium.

“Sorry, Jay.” Tim cleared his throat and glanced at his older brother, contrite. “He’s been in surgery for almost two hours and they have been providing his mother – Commissioner Sawyer, with regular updates since she can’t be there. The latest one has upgraded his condition from critical to guarded. I can – I was trying to access their cameras… if you wanted to see him since Jason Todd has no reason to be there.”

“Yet.” Bruce added, the hand still on his shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze. “Give it another hour or so and you can claim to have heard it on the news or seen it online; go donate blood and then stick around if you want.”

“Yeah.” Jason nodded. “I don’t – I don’t think I can see it just yet, Timmy. Not if he…”

Tim nodded and shut down the window he had been rapidly inputting code into.

“Change out of your gear, grab something to eat and get some rest.” Bruce told Tim lightly. “We’ll check the updates before nightfall then head out again as soon as we can. With the city on high alert it should be a quiet night. Perfect for hunting those that evaded the police this morning.”

The teenager nodded and clapped his hand on Jason’s other shoulder as he passed. “We’ve seen he’s a fighter, Jay. He’ll pull through this.”

Jason placed a hand over his brother’s. “Thanks, Little Wing.”

With a fond smile, Tim left the two alone.

Keeping his hand on his eldest’s shoulder, Bruce used his foot to hook the second chair and roll it over to them. Once he was sitting, he shifted them both until they were facing each other. “What’s going on, Jason?”

Sighing, Jason wrapped his arms around his abdomen and leaned forward until his forehead was resting on Bruce’s knees. The Dark Knight started running his fingers through Jason’s hair without any hesitation. It was a position and action that had begun many years prior after a particularly hard patrol for the young Nightwing. One that hadn’t been taken since Jason had been a child.

There was silence around them, poignant but not uncomfortable. Jason’s thoughts were going a mile a minute and with another sigh he finally answered. “I think I’m in love with him, Bruce.”

Before his father could say anything, Jason rushed on. “I know! I barely know him. But – but everything I’ve read about him, every time I talk to him? God Bruce, it’s like I’m a puzzle missing a hundred pieces and whenever I’m with him I find a missing piece. I can’t – seeing him like I did today, knowing he might not… I feel like I’m breaking apart again, Bruce.”

The hand continued to stroke through his hair and after a few seconds he heard the other man chuckle. “You are definitely my son.”

Jason reluctantly sat up and met Bruce’s amused eyes. With an arch of his eyebrow he silently asked for clarification.

Bruce gave another low laugh before leaning back in his chair. “I have loved – genuinely and absolutely loved – three women in my life. Each of them within a matter of weeks of knowing them. Rachel, to my disappointment, never felt the same though she remained one of my dearest friends until her passing before I adopted you. The other two-”

“I am well aware of the way you continue to dance around Selina and Talia.” Jason shook his head. “You know where my vote lies. And Tim’s.”

The smirk that graced Bruce's face was one of rare self-awareness. “Yes, well, neither are entirely appropriate, are they?”

“One is an internationally wanted thief and has kidnapped both of your sons, multiple times, to gain your attention. The other has also kidnapped both of your sons, multiple times, but didn’t just want your attention she also attempted to kill both of your sons. Again, multiple times.”

“My point!” Bruce interrupted Jason when it looked like he was going to continue his little rant. “Is that my father was the same way. I remember he once told me he knew Mother was the love of his life after their second date and pursued her to near obsession. I don’t have memories of my grandparents, and never knew the story, but I do know that they met and married less than two months later. Apparently, when Wayne men fall in love, they do so quickly and completely.”

“But I’m not a Wayne.” Jason said, only to flinch when he saw the frown on his father’s face.

“The past ten years and the certificate of adoption in my office safe are proof to the contrary.” He growled. “And if your current feelings are any indication, then you are without a doubt a Wayne and _my son_.”

The warmth he felt at that declaration flooded through his chest and he felt himself smiling softly at the man who was his father. “So, I have inherited the Wayne Men Curse; what does that mean for me?”

“It means you have a big heart and a great capacity for love.” Bruce stood and offered his hand to help Jason to his feet as well. “It means you get changed and cleaned up, have something to eat, then head over to the hospital. Be there for your friend and going forward – because there will be a forward; like Tim said, Grayson is a fighter – let the man get to know you and let him decide how he feels. If you were going to dinner tonight there’s obvious some interest there.”

Jason accepted the hand but did not let it go once he was standing. He used it to pull the older man into him and wrapped his arms around him. Bruce easily reciprocated. “Thanks, Dad.”


	4. I Almost Lost You Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Companion piece to my story "The Year From Hell". Chapters will be posted simultaneously, but "The Year From Hell" should be read first as these will contain spoilers for that story and won't make sense otherwise.

** 4\. I almost lost you again. **

The dark had been comfortable, all encompassing, and he really hadn’t wanted to leave it. But somewhere outside the dark was a voice, soft and familiar, guiding him out of the black and toward the light. As he rose, he could feel gentle fingers carding through his hair and he heard a sigh of contentment roll beneath his lips as he turned his head toward the feeling.

“ _Aí estás._ ” A woman’s voice practically cooed. “ _Creo que xa durmiches o suficiente_.” (There you are. I think you’ve slept enough already.)

“ _Mamá_ ,” the word was barely a breath over his dry and cracked lips and it still sent a scorch of razor-sharp pain through his throat. The comfortable numb fled in its wake and he could suddenly feel everything.

His arms, shoulder, legs, throat, chest – god, what the hell happened to his chest?! – seared with varying degrees of hurt. He clenched his already closed eyes tighter, wishing for the nothing of the dark. The hand in his hair never stopped its stroking, and he was somewhat aware of the woman calling for someone. Another voice joined, deeper and unfamiliar, but a few seconds later the pain retreated from the soothing warmth spreading through his veins.

“…eeling better now, Commissioner.” The unfamiliar voice droned. “Let me know if you, or he, needs anything else.”

“Thank you.” The relief in the woman’s words was palpable, and after a moment he felt something cool and wet pressing past his lips. “It’s just some ice, _fillo_.”

Accepting the relief that trickled over his tongue and down his throat, he pressed his eyes open. The room was dim; the fluorescent lights on the ceiling were dark and the small lamp on the wall near his head provided the only light in the room. The windows of the room were partially covered by thin curtains, one black with the night and the other filtered the light from the hall. Machines and monitors filled the spaces of the room, leaving only a single chair occupied by his beside. It was a familiar sight, having occupied the same ICU room not that long ago.

Lines of worry etched his foster-mother’s face even as she let another chip of ice slip over his lips while her other hand continued to comb through his hair. When their eyes met, she smiled softly. “ _Aí estás._ ” (There you are.)

“How long?” While his throat didn’t hurt as much this time, his voice was barely audible even to his ears.

“Two days.” She answered quietly, straightening the nasal canula adhered beneath his nose. “You had me worried, kiddo. Again. You’re going to turn my hair gray before I’m fifty.”

“Stylists would never let it show.” He tried to offer her a smile of his own, but weariness wouldn’t let it remain in place for long. “What happened?”

“What do you remember?” She asked quietly.

_“Are you sure you saw someone come in here, John?”_

_“No, not really, but would you want to risk not checking tonight?”_

_“… Point.”_

_“How’s the shoulder holding up?”_

_“That jackass from the last group of would-be looters got a lucky shot in. Sore, but I’ll live.”_

_“Always hurt the hurt, you know that.”_

_“Like the time you kept stubbing the same toe and whined about it the entire shift?”_

_“That bloody well hu-”_

_“JOHN!”_

“John!” Instincts kicking in, he wanted to push himself out of the bed, but Maggie was there with a calming hand to his arm.

“Easy, Dick, John’s okay.” She assured him. “He’s sustained a grade two concussion and some smoke inhalation. He’s a couple floors up from here until his chest x-rays are clear. He’s even been down to check on you several times. The nurses keep chasing him away and have taken to threatening to strap him to his bed.”

The coughing fit that came from his sudden laughter ended a few minutes later, tears streaming down his face and fire lancing through his chest. A male nurse, Dick assumed the one from before, was there again quickly when the machines monitoring him register his distress. The man took a moment to take in the readings before he replaced the tube beneath Dick’s nose with a full oxygen mask.

As he breathed as deeply as he could, the nurse was pressing a stethoscope beneath the collar of his hospital gown and against his chest listening There was a worrying frown on his lips before he drew back and draped the scope around his neck. “I’m not comfortable with the sound of your lungs, Officer Grayson. I know it’s late, and you probably want to go back to sleep, but I’m going to call the Doctor on call and see if we can get you into x-ray again to find out what’s happening in there. All right?”

Too exhausted to talk, he nodded and closed his eyes. He felt Maggie move from her spot in the chair and sit on the edge of the bed beside him, her fingers once more stroking his hair. “ _Tenta quedar esperto, fillo._ ” (Try to stay awake, son.)

A weak smile tugged at his lips. “ _Falas… enfermo ou ferido…_ ” (You speak… sick or injured…)

“It always made you feel better when you were younger.” She chuckled lightly next to him, her hand never halting its movement through his hair. “You and your romance languages; I had to lean Galician just to understand you when you had a fever growing up. How many do you know now?”

“All of them.” His words wheezed through the mask.

“And a few other dialects, I’m sure.” He felt her shift and a moment later her lips were pressed against his sweaty forehead. “I almost lost you again.”

The heartache in her voice warred with her obvious relief and he felt the guilt gnaw at his insides. “Tell me?” He whispered.

Dick heard her inhale sharply and for a few heavy moments of silence he didn’t think she would answer him. When she settled on what to say, her voice was thick with emotion and he felt a couple warm drops fall onto his forehead. “You weren’t breathing, and your heart had stopped by the time they got you out.”

… that was unexpected…

“Both of your thumbs were broken, and your arms were bloody from trying to escape.”

He remembered screaming in frustration when that trick hadn’t worked again. He had pulled and yanked and twisted every way possible with no effect except pain and blood.

“The men who got you out, they said there was evidence you tried kicking the pipe you were cuffed to. It was an old galvanized steel pipe, and the fact that you had it bent as much as you did… you have a few hairline fractures in the bones of your feet that should heal in a couple weeks.”

The smoke had just been coming into the room when he did that, coughing at the soot and heat that had burned into his lungs with every breath. Cursing and swearing in every language he knew with ever desperate kick until he couldn’t breathe anymore.

“Lynns had set several points of ignition throughout the building, one just a few doors down from where you were. That fire sealed itself inside the room, which incidentally saved both yours and John’s lives. Otherwise, by the time they noticed you had missed several check-ins the entire building would have been engulfed.”

Feeling the sweat evaporating from his body as the heat rose around him; nearly panicking for his partner as he knew John had been closer to the flames than Dick; frantic for escape because he knew his next breath might have been his last; he hadn’t given in to the despair because he believed the GCPD would have known they were missing. The required check-ins were for that exact reason after they had lost so many officers over the years to the Psychos of Arkham.

And they hadn’t noticed.

Understanding the cause of the frown he knew was on his face, she continued. “The Bats were paying attention and, as soon as they realized the danger you both were in, they were racing to Coventry. Batman only split off when he saw Firefly, but reports put Red Hood at the scene within minutes of the all-points going out. He was the one who went in after you when John told them you were still inside.”

“Hood?” He croaked and couldn’t have stopped his eyes from snapping open if he wanted to. They were wide and confused as he looked up at the woman.

She nodded. “He and two firefighters that went against procedure and tore in there after him. They got you out, but it was Red Hood that started CPR. He and the paramedics worked on you for several minutes before your heart started and you were breathing on your own. He may have broken a couple of your ribs doing it, Richard, but Red Hood saved your life.”

“Twice.” He agreed.

“Three times.” She corrected, and with a sigh she explained. “I’ve talked to Batman a couple of times about the incident back in August, and again when that wild child of his kidnapped you in November. When he gave me the evidence of the ‘Pay-to-Play Club’, I couldn’t deny what might have happened to you if you’d gone through with the operation. The detectives had not been prepared for that level of depravity. While I don’t agree with his methods, Red Hood most likely saved your life that night as well. And then with the shooting, and now this?”

He really wasn’t sure how to deal with that.

“… fuck.”

She laughed lightly at him and leaned down again to kiss the now dried tears off his forehead. “With the way things have been for you these past few months, I’m not going to complain about this new guardian angel of yours. Though if I ever meet the bastard, he and I will be having words.”

“Commissioner Sawyer? We’re ready to take him down now.”

The nurse had returned with a couple of orderlies and reluctantly his foster-mother slid off the bed. She ran her hand through his hair one last time as they prepared the bed for transport and smiled warmly at him. “ _Estarei aquí cando regreses._ ” (I will be here when you return.)


	5. Hadn’t seen that one coming – pun intended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Companion piece to my story "The Year From Hell". Chapters will be posted simultaneously, but "The Year From Hell" should be read first as these will contain spoilers for that story and won't make sense otherwise.
> 
> A/N: New tags to be aware of with this chapter: sexual content, breath-play, voyeurism
> 
> I'm not very good at writing this type of content, at least not as explicit as this. I typically allude to sex but though I'd give it a try.

** 5\. Hadn’t seen that one coming – pun intended. **

With the windows polarized to diminish the glare of the rising sun, the occupants of the large bed remained oblivious to the dawn. Lying on his side, Jason’s eyes were closed but sleep was the furthest thing from his mind. Dick’s strong, calloused hand cupped his throat and had tilted his head back while the other man’s lips nipped and nuzzled the side of his neck and shoulder. The other hand was pressed against his abdomen, holding their bodies impossibly close; caressing and massaging the muscles beneath Jason’s skin. Every so often the hand would dip to his groin and teasingly stroke the hard, aching cock between his legs.

A low, tantalizing groan of pleasure escaped his parted lips as an equally hard, latex wrapped cock slid in and out of his ass with unhurried precision. His own hands reached around behind him; one weaving his fingers into the silky-soft locks of Dick’s hair and the other clawing at the man’s thigh. Dick drew his hips back deliberately, causing Jason to moan at the mixture of pleasure and pain as the cock that had been balls deep in his ass withdrew slowly until only the tip penetrated him.

“Fuck,” he sighed as Dick bit down gently onto the pulse point of his throat while he gradually slid back into him.

With teeth lightly pressing into his skin, Jason felt more than heard the man’s amused chuckle as Dick repeated the movement of his hips and casually withdrew and penetrated the younger man again. Leisurely fucking his ass, Dick kissed and licked the small bite mark on Jason’s neck. The hand on his abdomen slipped once more to Jason’s aching hard-on and fisted the length, stroking and pumping with the same torturous pace that had already been set.

Never in his life had he thought being with someone, male or female, could feel like this. He’d been pleasured for hours, taken to the brink, and driven over in the throes of passion unlike any he had experienced before. He had cum more times in one night at Dick’s ministrations than he had with any other partner.

And god above if the man wasn’t going to do it again!

Jason was experienced, but even he had to admit that his current bedmate was more than capable of teaching him a thing or two in the art of fucking. From the bed to the shower, up against the wall or spread across the table, tied up or tied down, neither man was above giving in to their desire whenever the need arose. And neither man was averse to bottoming to the other; Jason had given as much as he had taken. The need for sleep had been ignored, but no one was complaining.

“Shit, Dick!” He cried as he felt the pressure building in his balls.

Dick chuckled again and released the cock in his hand only to reach for and squeeze Jason’s ball-sack, staving off the impending orgasm. “Not yet, Mr. Todd; we’ve got a long way to go.”

“Yes, sir, Officer.” Jason smirked and turned his head to the side, tightening the fingers in Dick’s hair to hold his lover in place as he captured the man’s mouth with his own. Tongues danced and twined around one another even as Dick continued to thrust into Jason maddeningly slow.

The soft trill of a distinctive ring had Dick moaning in complaint at the distraction. Jason held his grip in dark locks, refusing to have the man stop the kissing or the fucking. The moan became an amused chuckle and he spoke into Jason’s mouth, “That’s my Captain. I kind of have to answer.”

“Boo…” Jason fully expected the other man to pull out but was surprised when Dick just reached across Jason’s body toward the bedside table where both their cell phones were charging. “Wha-hmph!” His eyes went wide when the hand on his throat moved and was suddenly covering his mouth.

Dick accepted the incoming call on speaker with his free hand before returning it to stroking Jason’s cock with just the tips of his fingers. “This is Grayson.”

_“I know it’s early, but I figured you’d be awake.” The woman’s voice said without introduction. “What about Wayne?”_

“Still in bed.” Dick answered with a tilted smirk as his cock slid fully into Jason’s ass again, the tip just grazing the bundle of nerves inside.

Jason huffed through his nose, the thrill of desperately trying to stay quiet pooling alongside his arousal, his warm breath dancing across Dick’s fingers.

_“Quentin has lawyered up, so have Hemmings and Olsen; their lawyers are coming up from Metropolis this afternoon. Expensive lawyers, players that these boys cannot be paying for.”_

“Any idea who is footing the bill, Amy?” Dick frowned, his hips picking up a little speed though never penetrating fully, prevent the slapping of their skin from being heard.

_“That’s why I’m calling.”_ Even as thoroughly distracted as he was, Jason could hear the frustration in the Captain’s voice. “ _Client Attorney Privilege means we have no idea who’s paying these jackasses. However, Gavroche is willing to deal. He claims he needed the money for his sister’s kid and that’s the only reason he turned. He’s told the detectives that none of them know who the money man is. Only that Quentin was paid two million – cash up front – to deliver both JT Wayne and the briefcase the kid was carrying. Quentin cut them each in for a hundred thousand.”_

Jason tried to tilt his head away from the muffling palm, but Dick held him tight. He gently pulled Jason’s head back, cradling it against his own shoulder as he kept the hand-gag in place. “If the people paying Quentin were putting up that kind of cash, they couldn’t have been after ransom. And there wouldn’t have been the need for the days of threatening photos or shooting Bruce Wayne.”

He knew he should tap out, use the prearranged signal to stop when safewords weren’t possible, and join the conversation about the threat to his family. He drew the hand out of Dick’s hair and to the wrist of the hand quieting him, but then the fingers on Jason’s cock were curling around the thick shaft and continuing to pump it languorously. Jason’s eyes fluttered shut at the sensation and he hummed quietly against the palm in what would have been a moan had he allowed himself to be any louder.

Luckily, the Captain – Amy Rohrbach, if he remembered correctly - was speaking again and didn’t hear him. _“The detectives don’t think that Timothy or Bruce Wayne were ever intended as targets. The first pictures put Wayne on edge, defensive, worrying about himself and his youngest.”_

“JT was out of the country, safe.” Jason kept his eyes closed when Dick’s tongue lapped at a droplet of sweat on his shoulder blade. He dug his fingers into the hip as it rhythmically rocked the cock in and out of his ass. “But it was Wayne Enterprises business, public. It wouldn’t have been hard finding out when he was coming back to Gotham.”

_“Bruce’s shooting ensured that he would be seeking protection for JT and Timothy.”_ She carried on. _“Gavroche told the detectives that Quentin was counting on getting tapped for his protection detail. It almost worked-”_

“But then Mr. Wayne called in a favour with the Commissioner and I was assigned as his son’s bodyguard.” The movement of Dick’s hips halted briefly but the man didn’t release the teasing grip on his shaft. “Did Gavroche know why JT was targeted?”

Dick’s pelvis was grinding against Jason’s ass, the cock gliding deeper and massaging that glorious spot inside. He started to groan with need – with **_moreharderfaster_** – but the sound was caught before it got too loud by a shift of the hand to cover his nose as well.

_“Only that the briefcase had to be included as well or all bets were off. Any idea what was inside?”_

Jason’s eyes opened wide when the head of Dick’s cock suddenly thrust against the stimulated bundle of nerves with ever swivel of his hips. He cawed at the other man’s hips with fingers that would undoubtedly leave bruises, and the other tightened it’s hold on the wrist to the hand now suffocating him. The thought of tapping out was there for only a brief second before the rush of lack of oxygen while being gagged and torturously fucked went straight to his cock. He was so close, and it was driving him insane!

“I know Quentin tried taking the case while the others were taking JT.” It was infuriating to hear how controlled Dick spoke to the woman on the other end of the call even as the movement of his hips sped up. “We got it back and JT locked it up in a safe in his father’s office. No one’s getting it out there.”

Lungs burning, Jason was nearing the time to tap out when the hand shifted away from his nose but not his mouth. Able to breathe again, he was panting softly through his nose as Dick’s cock was pistoning against his prostate with rapid, short strokes. He would have been gasping and begging for **_moreharderfaster_** if he’d been able to speak.

_“Alright. I’ll reach out to Wayne senior and see what he knows about what his son was up to in Hong Kong. The detectives will need to talk to JT about this; any idea when he’ll be up?”_

“I don’t think he got any sleep last night.” Jason’s hips jerked forward, his prick seeking **_moreharderfaster_** from the hand circling the shaft. The palm covered his mouth and nose again, when a guttural moan started in his chest and nearly escaped, as Dick’s hand used the precum as lubricant to jerk him off in time with each jolt to his prostate. “He probably won’t be getting out of bed for a couple hours still, at least.”

_“Poor kid. You know this means you’re stuck there for now, right? If someone was paying out two million for him, I doubt they’ll stop at one attempt. Just keep an eye on him and don’t let him do something stupid.”_

Jason grunted near inaudibly in warning as he felt the pressure building in his testes. He anticipated being denied again but was rewarded with a quickening of both the hand on his dick and the cock in his ass. Eyes squeezing shut, his release exploded over Dick’s hand and the sheets beneath them.

“I won’t let him out of my sight.” Dick’s words were warm against Jason’s ear as the hand around his cock practically milked every drop of cum out of him. He wanted to scream when the hand continued to stroke his softened and oversensitive shaft, the dick inside him not only continuing to move but picking up speed.

_“Have JT get in contact with the Detectives as soon as possible.”_

“Yes, Captain.”

There was several seconds of silence, Jason’s lungs started to ache and his body’s instinctive need to fight for air was beginning to kick in. His pulse was roaring in his ears and it felt glorious, his head swimming with untapped pleasure. He was keening beneath the hand and his stifled breath seared inside his chest. He was pushing back against every snap of Dick’s pelvis against his ass, the slap of skin against skin gaining volume as the man behind him began losing control. Teeth nuzzled against the pulse point on the side of his neck, biting softly and kissing the spot as there was a soft ‘ping’ somewhere in the background.

“Let me hear you…” Dick’s voice was the filthiest Jason had ever heard and suddenly the hand was gone from his face.

Deep ragged gasps of air tore past his lips and down his throat, cooling the fire inside his chest. “Oh fuck!” The other man was pounding into him, the fist never relenting on Jason’s overstimulated cock, and he could feel his arousal skyrocketing as he panted. The hand clenched around Dick’s wrist followed the arm when his came to wrap around his waist, as if the man behind him was trying to get them even closer. Jason wove their fingers together against his stomach. “Shit, Dick… I can’t- again… please… ghnnn…”

“You can...” The words were ground out, punctuated with a thrust of his hips to drive the cock against the enflamed nerves inside him. “You … oh, fuck!”

The unrelenting hand on his spent shaft was sending fire through him to the point of becoming painful, but the scorching desire as his prostate and inner walls were ravaged had him riding the heat spreading through him. His muscles tightened around the thickness penetrating him, a single strangled cry drawn out of him when Dick lost all rhythm and surged into him with his own climax. The throaty sounds against his shoulder accompanied each wave of the other man’s orgasm.

They were both shuddering when Dick finally stilled several long seconds later, limbs wilting into the mattress as Dick’s weight sagged against Jason’s back. The bedroom was filled with only the sound of their panting, and Jason was completely blissed out. His entire body tingled with the aftermath of orgasming twice in such close succession.

“… damn.” He relaxed bonelessly into his bedmate.

“Are you okay?” Lips traced lightly against the back of his shoulder, the hand on his cock finally moving and began caressing his thigh soothingly before lacing his fingers together with the hand that Jason held on his hip. Dick’s voice was husky, and Jason could hear a fraction of concern colouring his words.

“More than.” He admitted and turned his head so he could kiss the worry away. It was soft, chaste, and more intimate than Jason expected it to be.

Dick broke the kiss a few seconds after it began and let their foreheads rest together while they were still regaining their breath. Jason closed his eyes as he started to come down from the sexual high, a contented sigh passing over his lips and against Dick’s throat. The older man touched his lips gently on top of Jason’s head before slowly withdrawing his softened cock out of Jason’s ass. The arms enveloping him were gently moved from around and beneath him and there was movement on the bed behind him.

He listened as his lover padded bare foot across the carpeted floor and to the sound of running water from the en suite. Less than a minute later Dick was back and running a warm, damp cloth over his body. Jason gave another sound of satisfaction and allowed himself to be manhandled while Dick cleaned him up. He hissed at the sensitivity of his cock when the cloth trailed over it and opened his eyes when he felt the man draw back.

“I’m sorry.” Dick said quietly with a small frown tugging down his lips.

Jason rolled onto his back and looked up at the other man. “For, what? Discovering a new kink of mine? Because I got to admit: erotic asphyxiation? Hadn’t seen that one coming – pun intended.”

Dick laughed lightly and tossed the cloth onto the side table beside the bed. He settled into the mattress next to Jason, tugging the blanket over their naked bodies before snuggling against Jason’s side with an arm draped over his abdomen. He stroked it lightly, his fingertips grazing over the skin. “You held your breath. A couple of times last night, when you were about to cum, you would hold your breath just before and during. Took the chance you might enjoy a little breath-play. You didn’t tap out, so…?”

“Huh.” Jason thought back on the night’s activities and recognized the truth in the other man’s words. “You’re right, I did enjoy it. A lot. Wouldn’t want to do it all the time though.”

“Just like I like a little exhibitionism, hence the fucking you while on the phone with my boss.” Jason felt the heath rushing to his cheeks as he took a quick glance at the phone on the nightstand that was, thankfully, dark and no longer connected with the Captain of the 29th Precinct. “Once in a while, but not all the time.”

“Good,” Jason chuckled and turned back to his bed partner. He reached out and combed his fingers through Dick’s dark hair to grab him gently at the back of the neck and draw him closer. “Because I’m not big on sharing.” 

The kiss was slow, measured, neither man having the energy for anything else. Jason let his tongue lap lightly at Dick’s lips, the other man’s mouth parting to allow him gentle access. The thumb of Dick’s hand on Jason’s stomach circled his belly button. The pair allowed the stillness of the moment to linger for several minutes before Jason reluctantly brought the tender kiss to an end. Dick shifted his smaller body next to him, looping Jason’s arm around his neck and across his shoulders, letting his head rest on Jason’s chest.

Jason softly kissed his lips against the top of Dick’s head. “We really should get some sleep.”

“A couple hours, at least.” Dick agreed. “You going to be okay with that?”

“You now know how I spend most of my nights.” He replied with a wry grin that was echoed in his tone. “Four hours of sleep is a good night for me.”

“My boyfriend is a vigilante who fights criminals alongside a man who dresses up as a flying rodent.” Dick huffed and shook his head, the hair tickling the skin of Jason’s pec. “That’s going to take some getting use to.”

“Bats are not rodents, they’re Chiroptera.” He teased, closing his eyes while he curled his arm around Dick to allow him to card the fingers through the hair. “And will that take more or less than the ‘Bruce-Wayne-Is-My-Father’ thing?”

“Oh god.” Dick moaned and buried his face against Jason’s torso. “You’re one of Batman’s partners.”

“We established that last night after the whole attempted kidnapping thing.” Jason allowed his confusion at Dick’s sudden mood swing to show.

“You don’t get it.” He moaned again. “You were Nightwing, the child sidekick-”

“Partner.”

“-who was rumored to be Batman’s son. Bruce Wayne is your father.”

“Again, we went over that last night.”

“On their own, each man is terrifying.” Dick admitted and finally lifted his face to look up into Jason’s. “But if you were Nightwing, Batman’s son, and Bruce Wayne is your father, that makes Batman and Bruce Wayne the same man!”

“And…?”

“And I just spent the past twelve hours fucking or being fucked by the son of the two most intimidating men on the planet!” Dick explained with a frightened little squeak in his voice. “And we haven’t even gone on a real date yet!”

For a moment, Jason is taken aback but the absolutely terrified expression on his boyfriend’s (are they though? He’s going to go with it, considering Dick already said it first.) face. And then he laughed. Wrapping both arms around his _boyfriend_ to keep him in the bed when it looked like he would bolt, Jason’s let his head fall back on the pillows and laughed long and hard.

“I’m glad you find this so funny.” Dick grumbled, turning his head to let it settle on Jason’s shaking chest again. “Forget the shovel talk, when he finds out he’s going to just use the shovel to bury me somewhere in a deep dark cave.”

He couldn’t help it.

Jason laughed harder.

“… goddamn fucking Bats.”


End file.
